Fastening or sealing boxes, packets, wrappers, and the like.



E. GOLEGATE. FASTENING 0R SEALING BOXES, PAOKB'I'S,

WBAPPERS, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1912.

Patented Oct. 28, 1913.

ERNEST COLEGATE. 0E GIEJIINGHAM, ENGELANB.

FASTENING DR $EA LING GEES, PACKETS, "WE-AIFEBS, AND THE LIKE.

flpeclflcatton of Letters Z'atent.

. application filed duly t, 19%.

Patented @et. 28, 1913.. Serial No. 707,879.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.

tie it known that l, lEnnnsr Consume, a subject of the King of England, and re siding at Gillingham, Kent, in England, have invented certain new and useful improvements in the Fastening or Sealing of Boxes Packets, Wrappers, and the Ike, 2 of wluch the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the fastening or sealing of boxes, packets, wrappers and the like, and has for its object to enable snap fasteners to be satisfactorily employed for this purpose.

Hitherto closing tags or flaps, each carrying one member of the sna been connected to a wall of t e box and portion of the lid or cover respectively in such a way that the two members of the snap fastener could be made to engage when the box was closed. Such an arrangement has proved unsatisfactory, since the tags, WlllCll were formed of aste-board, linen, stout paper or the like had first to have the snap members riveted or otherwise connected to them before they could be applied to the box, and further it was necessary to attach the tags to the box before the latter was completed. Consequently difiiculty was experienced in making the two members of the snap fastener to register, with the result that the closing device was rendered useless. According to this invention one member of a snap fastener is attached to the lid or closing flap of a box, packet or wrapper, the

other member of the fastener being attached to the wall or other part of the box, this wall being then cut in the neighborhood of the fastening member it carries so as to form a tag or the like, which is integral with the wall, and brings the two portions of the fastening into the necessary position for engagement, whereby the box is effectively secured when closed. By forming a tag in one with a portion of the wall of the box in this manner and bending the ta so as to engage the outer surface of the 11d or closing flap, the portion of the latter which carries the corresponding member lies between the main portion of the wall which it covers and the under-surface of the tag formed from a portion of this wall. ing the tag it is possible to secure the lid of a box in place merely by applying pressure to the two portions of the snap fastenor, and that portion of the fastening fastener have By so form-' member which is carried by the lid or cover is adequately supported by the other porin their inoperative and operative positions res actively. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the on wall of a folding box before being folded. Fig. 7 is a cross section after this wall has been folded into its operative position, and Fig, 8 is a perspective view of a wrapper or llke packet rovided with a closing tag according to this invention.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 the box is formed of leather-board or stout paste-board and has the stud portion A of a snap fastener attached to its front wall B at a definite distance from the up or edge thereof, thls wall being out in a irection parallel with the height of the box on either side of the stud so as to form a tag B which is integral with the front wall of the box. The flange C on the front of the lid 0, which in the example illustrated is of the hinged variety, has a socket portion D of a snap fastener attached to it, preferably by some convenient eyeleting machine, the distance between, the center of the socket portion D and the top of the lid coinciding with the distance between the center of the stud member A and the upper edge of the front wall B of the box. It will thus be seen that when the lid C is closed, if the tag B formed in the manner described is bent outward as shown in Fig. 1 and then made to lie against the outer face of the flange C, the two portions A, D of the snap fastener can be made to engage on being pressed together (Fig. 5) so that the box is securely closed. Since the socket portion D of the fastener is attached only a short distance belowthe top of the box, and as the flange C in which it is formed is supported by the upper edge of the front wall 13 of the box, it is adequately supported at the moment when pressure 1s applied and does not tend to yield and so prevent the two portions of the snap fastener being engaged even when the contents of the box do not afford any support.

The front wall B is conveniently cut in the same machine which applies the stud member A, the two operations being simultaneous or in ra )id succession. If desired the upper ends (1 the tag may be rounded as shown in Fig. 3 and the tag formed nearer the base of the front wall should the flange on the box lid be of considerable depth. Fig. 3 shows such a ta for use in connection with a box where t e lid is entirely removable and of approximately the same depth as the box itself.

If desired the base of the tag may be grooved as at B in Figs. 4 and 5 to facilitate the case with which it may be bent outward and also give an indication as to where the tag is to be cut through when the box is to be opened.

The tag may be ornamented in an convenient manner and if desired may e impressed when having the stud applied thereto, with directions as to how the box is to be opened or to imitate say a leather strap. The arrangement is such that the tags are not bent outward into their operative position until it is required to seal the box, so that when the boxes are stored awaiting use the two parts of the snap fastener are in the position shown in Fig. 4 when no accidental engagement between the two members can take place by reason of the engaging surfaces being entirely out of contact with one another.

In some types of foldin boxes the end walls are formed of doub e thickness, the inner wall being bent over along the upper edge of the box to assume a position parallel to the outer wall and thus serve to retain the side walls of the box in an extended state. Such an end wall is shown in its extended state in Fig. 6, where the cardboard l) constituting the end wall is provided with two longitudinal grooves E E A tag B is cut in the lower portion of the wall E and provided with a snap fastener A as in the construction already described and the portion of the wall F between the grooves E E is then folded into the position shown in Fig. 7 that is to say into a plane parallel with the front wall E so that the groove E forms the upper edge of the box. The portion G is then bent along the groove E at right angles to the plane of the wall F so that the three parts of the wall E, F, G, assume the position shown in section in Fig. 7 \Vhen the end wall is so folded it will be seen that an inner protective wall is provided which prevents damp or dust entering the box through the opening formed by the tag; The groove E and extension or foot Gr may be omitted if desired but its provision acts as an additional security and further by engaging the bottom of the box increases the area of the surfaces in contact.

'lhough described above with reference to boxes having llanged lids the invention is mplally applicable to all packets or wrappers w iere a closing flap or cover is folded down upon another flap or wall to inclose anything therein. For instance if a plain cardboard wrappcr such as those employed for transmitting photographs through the post is to be closed in accordance with this invention the socket portion of the fastener is conveniently applied to the closing flap at a given distance from its free end the stud member being attached to the under fla or rear wall of the wrapper at a correspon ing distance from the free edge of the ta which is formed in one with such rear walfi Such an arrangement is shown by way of example in Fig. 8 which illustrates a. wrapper for inclosing a book. This arrangement comprises a single piece of cardboard H provided with a closin fia H and an under fia or rear Wall The socket portion D o a sun. fastener is attached to the closing flap H in the usual way and a rounded tag to which the member A of the fastener is secured is formed in the rear or under wall H The wrapper is rovided with end flaps H and is referabl; corrugated or grooved at H in t 9 known manner to accommodate the book or other article which it is intended to inclose. Where the tag is of the straight form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the length of the cuts constituting the tag determines the extent to which the closing flap or cover H overlaps the under wall H.

It will be understood that any number of closing tags may be formed in the wall of the box in the manner described and that though primarily intended for use in connection with snap fasteners which cannot be opened when once closed, the invention is also applicable to sna fasteners of the type which can be opene as often as desired. Further, where boxes, for instance those containing samples, are to be sent through the post and are to be returned, an additional tag and corresponding snap fastener in the lid may be provided but not used in the first instance, this fastening being employed when the packet is returned.

Though the stud member has been described as being applied to the tag it will be understood that the socket member may be formed on the tag and the stud on the lid if found desirable. Further the forms of packet which can be fastened in this manner may vary considerably and the position of the fastening members on the packets to be closed may be varied in many respects to suit requirements without departing from this invention.

In some cases a label or addressing tag may be attached to the box simultaneously with the closing operation thereof, the label being eyeleted and the head of the stud being made to engage the eyelet and so grip the latter between the under surface of the closing tag and the outer face of the box, alternatively the addressing label may be attached to the box lid or its closing tag by being riveted thereto simultaneously with the respective portion of the snap fastener.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a box, the combination with a flanged lid carrying the socket portion of a snap fastener in its flange, of a closing tag, cut out from the wall of the box, carryin the stud portion of the snap fastener an adapted to be brought against the outer surface of the flanged lid to engage the fastening member carried thereby as set forth.

2. The herein described box comprising a body and a cover, the body having a tag cut from a side Wall and adapted to extend within the cover or to be deflected outwardly to permit a portion of the cover to extend beneath said tag and over the outer face of the wall from which the tag is formed at both sides of the tag, and a snap fastener having one member attached to and projectin from the inner surface of the tag and t e other secured to the section of the cover that is adapted to be positioned beneath the tag.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARoHI ALn J. FRENCH, PERCY GEORGE GATTER. 

